Local data communication traffic management

ABSTRACT

A method and system is provided by which packets received from or destined for devices served by a bidirectional signal transceiver such as a distributed antenna system (DAS) (or “headend”) by means of a connected Long-Term Evolution (LTE) eNodeB are serviced and routed locally rather than being placed arbitrarily on a Wide Area Network (WAN). The physical path length of the connections between the signal transceiver, eNodeB and primary router, and primary router and Evolved Packet Core (EPC), and primary router and secondary router is fundamental to the invention.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/202,257 filed Mar. 10, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,179,356,which is incorporated herein by reference.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/202,257 filed Mar. 10, 2014, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,179,356, claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 61/775,644 filed Mar. 10, 2013, which is incorporated hereinby reference.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/202,257 filed Mar. 10, 2014, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,179,356, claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 61/844,113 filed Jul. 9, 2013, which is incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods, devices and systems for managinglocally, digital or analog information encoded as signals (hereinreferred to as data communication) from wireless and/or wired devices(I/O devices) be they phones, computers, sensors, touch screens,appliances and any other embodiment, with the intent of provisioningbandwidth intensive services, reduced latency, mitigation of risk, andimprovement over other non-optimal features of communicating over widearea public networks like the Internet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Network communications takes place when interconnected devices send andreceive digital data packets of information. Each packet contains aheader with information pertaining to the device initiating thecommunication, the target for the communication, the position of thepacket relative to other packets, error checking information, and datato be delivered by the packet. Network routers inspect the informationin packet headers and compare that information to routing tables todetermine what action should be done with any packet that has beenreceived. If, for instance, the error checking information indicatesthat a transmission error has taken place, the router will issue arequest for the packet to be resent. If the address informationindicates that the packet should be sent on to another server, then therouter adds its own information to the header and transmits the packetto the indicated server.

Presently, however, network routers do not consider the physicallocation of any given packet's source or destination. Any pathway takenby a packet is determined solely by the network information provided inthe packet header, acted upon by each router in the pathway. Twodevices, sitting next to one another in the same facility, may thuscommunicate through router and server connections that cause packets tomove thousands of physical kilometers to make information available thatotherwise might travel meters. The difference in packet path lengthbetween these two configurations affects the latency—that is, the delaybetween the sending of the package and its receipt, and the volume ofnetwork packet traffic placed on the network.

The number of network devices is rapidly proliferating. As these devicesacquire highly dedicated functions such as sensors and cameras, they maytransmit substantial amounts of data continuously. If all this data istransmitted conventionally, the capacity of the Internet is compromiseddue to packets taking transmission pathways much longer than actuallynecessary. The extra path lengths traversed by these packets degradesthe performance of the network as a whole, requiring a variety ofundesirable interventions—limiting transmissions, charging more for suchtransmissions, adding expensive new hardware resources to handle theincreased volume, or discriminating among transmissions to give some“favored” status.

Existing network infrastructure routes packets of information fromsending devices, through various receivers and routers, to destinations,typically in the form of servers and software connected to the network.Often these servers are housed in server farms, or data centers, wheremany servers share common power, cooling, security, and maintenanceresources. A given data center, in addition to server resources, willoperate an array of software and storage services, some general to thedata center and other services proprietary to the clients operating theservers.

In the existing network traffic architecture, data centers are simplynodes connected to the network. Network packets—such as a message or arequest for service—traverse a series of routers, from origin todestination. The architecture of this system is designed so that it doesnot matter where the points of origination and destination are—thestrength of the system is that it does not matter to the network. Anypacket with a well-formed destination address can be inspected androuted to its destination. This strength, however, comes at the expenseof the total distance a packet must move to be delivered within thenetwork. Two devices proximate to one another may communicate through aline of routers that are physically hundreds of kilometers away from theproximate devices. For simple communications, the latency caused by thedistance traveled is often not noticeable. However, for real timecommunications such as high definition video, or when there are manysuch communications competing for service, such latency is not onlynoticeable but may compromise the quality of service.

The coming revolution in networked devices enabled by such technologiesas various radio frequencies (RF) traversing fiber optic cable(RF-over-fiber), in which many devices such as sensors producingsignificant data streams may be readily integrated into a network, havethe prospect to overwhelm the current architecture. One response is toabandon neutrality in the service of packets, choosing some for prioritywhile limiting the rest, based on various schemes, including payment,decisions regarding importance, and the like. Any such decision,however, runs against the foundation of the Internet as one in whichpackets move at the capacity of the routing and server resources, not asa result of market interventions. Another response is a massiveinvestment to supply more resources and upgrade existing resources, sothat packet routing neutrality can be maintained. Such an investment,however, is prohibitively expensive.

What is desired is a method and system by which packets destined fordevices physically proximate to the transmitting device are serviced androuted locally rather than being placed arbitrarily on a Wide AreaNetwork (WAN), or creating communication technology necessary to servicethese packets that are placed on a WAN. The present invention addressesthis desire.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and system by which packetsreceived from or destined for devices served by a bidirectional signaltransceiver such as a distributed antenna system (DAS) by means of aconnected Long-Term Evolution (LTE) eNodeB are serviced and routedlocally rather than being placed arbitrarily on a Wide Area Network(WAN). The physical path length of the communicative connections betweencomponents is fundamental to the invention. Accordingly, proximate isdefined by a transmission pathway of less than 30 meters with atransmission pathway delay, i.e. latency, which is preferably less than150 milliseconds. Thus, in the invention the signal transceiver, eNodeB,primary router, Evolved Packet Core (EPC), and any additional signaltransceivers, secondary routers, or data centers are all proximate.Devices communicatively connected to the invention by means other than aWAN are called local devices, which need not be proximate. By “off-WAN”is meant not physically or communicatively connected to a wide areanetwork, or programmatically disconnected from a wide area network. AneNodeB or Evolved Node B is a radio resource controller and radiomobility manager supporting OSI Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols. We usethe term eNodeB broadly to include variations performing the samefunction but which support other communication protocols, including NodeB, Node B with radio network controller, and base transceiver station.

The proximate communicative connection of eNodeB (ordinarily designed tosend and receive packets on a WAN) and EPC (which is ordinarily designedto be distributed on a WAN) with a primary router that works to preventpacket entry onto a WAN, including by routing to a second proximaterouter that handles packets directed to compute and/or storage resourcesavailable off-WAN. In this invention the eNodeB and the EPC can beconfigured to operate only in an off-WAN configuration. By integratedresource data center (IRDC) compute services or computer resources ismeant provision of computational services by means of software operatingon one or more processing units, and providing functions in the form of(for illustrative purposes) virtual machines, database services, backupservices, and network analytics. By storage is meant resources to place,maintain, and access content or data, and reference is made to one ormore of storage, or stored content or data as the context requires.

The invention, an Integrated Resource, houses the proximate componentsof the system, essentially off-WAN, eliminating backhaul communicationsto process local services and redundant transport of data and computeservices that can be provided locally, not by means of a WAN. A WANconnection permits the integrated resource to perform status updates ofdevices served by the integrated resource. In the text that follows,Integrated Resource Primary Router and primary router are used with thesame meaning, as are Integrated Resource Secondary Router and secondaryrouter, as are various other terms such as data center, when used inreference to the components of the inventive system.

The integrated resource also provides a means for non-cell devices to beregistered devices on a cell provider's network, and communicate, bymeans of their native protocols, with other registered devices,including cell-capable devices, all within the local communications areaserved by the integrated resource, all without any traffic on a widearea network. In our usage, a registered device is one that isrecognized and valid on a given network. At present, in conventionalimplementations, if a device enabled for voice over Internet places acall to a cell phone, a connection is made, but it requires the use ofWAN resources. The integrated resource does not use WAN resources forcommunications served by communicatively connected devices, which aremanaged by the same primary router via its eNodeB and EPC, or managed bya secondary router, within the integrated resource. Instead, the primaryrouter switches non-cell to cell (and vice versa) within the integratedresource, before any traffic moves onto a WAN. The second router with aregistered device firewall and the primary router with integrated EPChandle these functions without use of a WAN.

A secondary router proximate to the primary router and to a data centerwith compute and storage resources within the integrated resource areconfigured, as well, to permit WAN-directed packets to be servicedwithin the integrated resource and off-WAN. This secondary router may bea separate physical device or it may be an extension of the primaryrouter's logic.

A function of the invention is to repurpose components, previouslydesigned for WAN applications and presently distributed across a WAN,into an integrated resource of proximate components that selectivelyprevent WAN traffic, while still providing requested services, which mayconventionally have been provisioned by means of WAN connections.

In summary, we highlight the following elements:

-   -   The proximate combination of a bi-directional transceiver (such        as a DAS headend), an off-WAN eNodeB, a primary router, and an        off-WAN Evolved Packet Core, where a WAN connection, if any, is        via the primary router.    -   The proximate pairing of a primary router with a secondary        router to permit a switching function to filter local        destination communications for integrated resource services. The        secondary router may be a physical device separate from the        primary router, or an expanded logic of the primary router.    -   Local destination is determined by the integrated resource, not        by the addresses in the communications stream.    -   The physical separation of the primary router and its        communicatively connected components from the secondary router        and its communicatively connected components, permitting        multiple vendors to have their own primary router and connected        hardware in the same installation while sharing common secondary        router and hardware.    -   The primary router and the secondary router practice methods of        filtering communications for local, off-WAN services.    -   The function of a primary router and secondary router can be        combined into a single physical device in some embodiments of        the invention.    -   Proximate, off-WAN switching of communications between two        communication protocols by the proximate collocation of a second        bi-directional transceiver and router so that local        communications to and from the second bi-directional transceiver        are routed by a second proximate primary router selectively to a        first proximate primary router, all off-WAN, and the method of        practicing this cross-protocol switching to filter local        destination communications for local services.    -   Proximate, off-WAN switching of communications between two        communications services by the proximate collocation of a second        eNodeB and second proximate primary router, so that so that        local communications to and from the second eNodeB are routed by        the second proximate primary router selectively to the first        proximate primary router, all off-WAN, either by a direct        communicative connection between the first and second primary        routers, or by routing communications through a common,        proximate secondary router, and the method of practicing this        cross-services switching to filter local destination        communications for local services. In this configuration, status        updates between the two services also take place off-WAN.    -   An Integrated Resource could be contained within (transported        by) satellite, space station, balloon, manned or unmanned        aircraft, robot, terrestrial vehicle (of any type) on planet        earth or any other celestial body, or/and animal (including        humans) either as a worn, carried or embedded instantiation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Definitions and Abbreviations:

-   CL Routing logic that determines whether a device requesting    communications services is registered for access to the primary    router IRPR.-   Communications An inter-device transfer of data carrying signals,    irrespective of the frequency of the signal used for communication.    Depending on the standards of any specific communication protocol    (e.g., WiFi (802.11), WiMax (802.16), Gigabit Ethernet, cable    communication standards, and any future data transmission standard)    the datagram (bit structure) of that specific communication protocol    may properly be referred to as a “packet,” or a “frame.”-   CT Cell Table, a routing logic maintaining information on registered    devices allowed access to the IRPR.-   DAS Distributed Antenna System (DAS) is a frequency-based    communications transportation system and signal transceiver for    conveying communications created with technology, such as, but not    limited to, LTE, CDMA, EVDO, GSM, HSPA, UMTS, which is embedded    within the frequency and encoded/decoded by a communicatively    connected device.-    The DAS equipment does not have any cell phone/smart phone-like    capabilities. Moreover, it does not have any carrier or Internet    service provider packet detection, packet deciphering, packet    routing, as well as any ability to service any of the requests or    actions that the contents of the packets are intended to elicit.-    DAS supports individually, or any combination of voice video, data    services, over 150 MHz (paging), 450 MHz (paging), 450 MHz (radio),    700 MHz (public safety radio), 800 MHz (public safety radio), LTE    (700 MHz), CELL (800 MHz), PCS (1900 MHz), AWS (2100 MHZ), 802.11    (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz), Gigabit Ethernet (list is not exhaustive).-   EN Ethernet-based communications system.-   eNodeB eNodeB is a radio resource controller and radio mobility    manager supporting OSI Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols; moreover an    eNodeB supports a set of legacy features, all related to physical    layer procedures for transmission and reception over the radio    interface including modulation and de-modulation, channel coding and    de-coding. We use the term eNodeB broadly to include variations    performing the same function, but which support other communication    protocols, including Node B, Node B with radio network controller,    and base transceiver station.-   EPC Evolved Packet Core is composed of a mobile management entity, a    home subscriber server, a serving gateway, a packet data network and    a policy and charging rules function server.-   Ethernet Ethernet frames and packets as formally defined in the    Ethernet specification IEEE 802.3.-   IR Integrated Resource, a proximate, off-WAN, communicatively    connected collocation of components comprising, at a minimum, a DAS,    eNodeB, IRPR, and EPC. An IR may include other components, also    proximate, off-WAN, and communicatively connected, including    secondary routers and an integrated data center.-   IRCT Integrated Resource Connection Table, a custom routing logic to    manage WAN-destined communications.-   IRDC Integrated Resource Data Center, comprising proximate compute    and storage resources.-   IRNT Integrated Resource Network Table, routing logic maintaining    the addresses for compute and storage systems available in an IRDC.-   IRNTx An extension of a secondary router IRSR routing logic that    includes the secondary routing logic IRNT of one or more connected    secondary routers IRSRx.-   IRPR Integrated Resource Primary Router.-   IRPRCT An extension of primary router IRPR routing logic that    includes the routing logic LDT of one or more communicatively    connected primary routers IRPRx.-   IRPRx Integrated Resource Primary Routers at one or more Integrated    Resource installations, each communicatively connected, off-WAN, to    one or more of the others.-   IRRDT Integrated Resource Registered Device Table, a routing logic    maintaining information on registered devices allowed access to a    primary router IRPR, to IRSRx, to WANx via IRSR, or to a proximate    data center IRDC.-   IRSR Integrated Resource Secondary Router.-   IRSRx Integrated Resource Secondary Routers at one or more    Integrated Resource installations, each communicatively connected,    off-WAN, to one or more of the others.-   LDT A routing logic for packets destined for secondary router IRSR    management. Multiple routers may maintain LDTs and the LDTs may not    be identical.-   WANx 0, 1, or multiple Wide Area Networks.-   WFR WiFi Router.-   WiFi IEEE WiFi (802.11x) datagram as defined for WiFi, i.e., frames    that are used for transmission of data, as well as, management and    control of wireless links.-   WiMax IEEE 802.16.-   X Any arbitrary radio frequency based communications protocol.-   XM Packet management controller for communication protocol X.-   Y Any arbitrary radio frequency based communications protocol    antenna system.-   YC A bi-directional transceiver that converts protocol Y    communications into the communication protocol of the integrated    resource, and converts the communication protocol of the integrated    resource into protocol Y communications.-   Z Any arbitrary radio frequency based communications protocol    antenna system.-   ZC A bi-directional transceiver that converts protocol Z    communications into the communication protocol of the integrated    resource IR, and converts the communication protocol of the    integrated resource IR into protocol Z communications.

FIG. 1 shows a system architecture according to an exemplary embodimentof the invention. Arrows represent communication interconnections.Specifically, 110 is a non-Ethernet communication connection, 120represents Ethernet frames, and all other arrows represents Ethernetconnections. Rounded items 130 represent router logic, commonlyemploying tables, circuits, algorithms, or firmware.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the physical collocation 210 of a DAS andeNobeB with a primary router according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention. The primary router at the output of an eNodeB functions toprevent certain packets from going to the WAN. A DAS is connected to acarrier-supplied signal by means of its headend, which typically has abidirectional amplifier (BDA) and is often referred to as a basetransceiver station (BTS). The present invention eliminates the BDA/BTSand connects the headend directly to the eNodeB, and then consolidatesthe entire carrier information technology infrastructure to managecommunications on its RF signal by connecting the eNodeB directly to theprimary router (IRPR) and an EPC operating off the WAN.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the physical collocation 310 of 210 with anoff-WAN EPC according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention toserve local originating packets from a dedicated eNodeB, with a primaryrouter as intermediary.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the physical collocation 410 of two routersaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the invention to re-routetraffic to local devices, and re-route traffic requesting WAN-availableservices to local services duplicating WAN-available services areavailable in an Integrated Resource Data Center, while at the same timepassing through WAN-destined traffic for which local services or localdevices are not present. The routers also route traffic requestingdistinctively local services to the Integrated Resource Data Center.With this configuration there will be functionally distinct routerservices, one to route cell or other specialty RF-based services and asecond function to route local compute and storage services requested bylocal devices. In other words, we have an interconnection of tworouters, off-WAN, to provide services that duplicate WAN services aswell as distinctive local services. The system allows selected servicesand content that would otherwise have been delivered over a WAN to bedelivered as if to requesting devices service requests had be processedover a WAN. In particular, the Integrated Resource Primary Router andSecondary Router routing logic allows for duplication of WAN addresses.Rather than redundant transport of content or compute services on demandover a WAN, the invention enables redundant WAN addresses at whichcontent and compute services that duplicate WAN content and computeservices.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the physical collocation 510 of IRPR, EPC,eNobeB, and IRSR according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.IRPR, EPC, eNodeB, IRSR are shown with one or more collocated WiFirouters (WFR), each WFR supplied with tables that permit local routingto IRSR or to IRPR for crossover to a cell network. In place of or inaddition to one or more WiFi routers, any access point sending andreceiving any specified protocol over RF, and converting that protocolinto Ethernet or another installed protocol in the IR may be collocatedin the IR, providing connections between local registered devices thatdo not communicate in a carrier's native protocol with devices servedlocally and non-locally by the carrier's native protocol.

-   -   In other words, an access point router serving one or more user        devices that are not able to send or receive cell signals        provides an interconnection for Ethernet packets (or other        non-cell communications) with a primary router (IRPR). The IRPR        then may process such packets as if generated by a device        capable of cell communications. In essence, non-cell capable        devices may subscribe for access to a cell service. The WFR also        routes non-cell-destined local traffic for services to the IRSR,        including typical local area network-style server functions,        network attached storage, and routing onto WAN for non-local        destinations and services.

FIG. 6 illustrates according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventionthat cell communications generated by local devices destined for localdevices within an IR have no backhaul or other presence on any WAN(other than an optional status update of their service status andlocation). Similarly, content (or data) service requests made by localdevices do not result in redundant transport of content (or data) over aWAN when the content (or data) is available locally (within the IRDC orserved by my means of a network of IRPRx). There is no backhaul WANactivity to service local routed traffic. There is no redundanttransport of data/content available from local compute/storage services,including such services at duplicated WAN addresses. WAN 610, 612 areused to send device status updates to WAN-based EPCs, to update routerlogic with status information as failover when direct connections arenot available, and to send and manage content/data installed incommunicatively connected, off-WAN Integrated Resource Data Centers. Forexample, a video file sent once to a thousand Integrated Resources maypermit millions of local streamed viewings of that video file withoutfurther use of WAN resources other than to update WAN-based subscriberstatus information.

FIG. 7 illustrates according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventiona system configuration 710 in which addresses in the Integrated ResourcePrimary Router and Integrated Resource Secondary Router may be unique ormay duplicate addresses on a WAN. A device communicatively connected tothe Integrated Resource, the device's communications, and WAN resourcesthat would otherwise service those communications experience no changes.The Integrated Resource Secondary Router's routing logic IRNT includesthe possibility of: 1) destinations unique to the IRDC, 2) destinationsunique to the secondary routing logic IRNT of a connected secondaryrouter IRSRx but unknown by any WAN, 3) destinations that are duplicatesof WAN addresses at the IRDC. For item 3, the Integrated Resourcecreates an environment in which selected WAN addresses may also existwithin one or more Integrated Resource routers as duplicates, but withno possibility of also appearing as duplicates on the WAN. This way, theIntegrated Resource router function allows the recreation of selectedportions of any WAN resources in a local, off-WAN environment. WANcommunications may also be used to transport content (data) for storageto an Integrated Resource Data Center of content (data) for storage andlocal access. WAN communications may be used to communicate statusinformation.

FIG. 8 shows according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention asystem configuration 810 of the interconnection between the primaryrouter (IRPR) and other primary routers (IRPRs), such that the IRPR canpass traffic to other primary routers without use of WAN resources, whenthose IRPRx have the required routing logic or devices registered forlocal services. Both IRPRs and IRSRs are scaleable to route directly toother connected IRPRx and IRSRx, via direct connection (wired, wireless,or any RF protocol) or as a failover via WAN connections (any protocol).To a local device all IRPRx look just like the IRPR that directly servesthe outputs of that device's eNodeB or other proximate signaltransceiver, and all IRSRx look like the IR that serves the local IRPR.

FIG. 9 shows a generalized system configuration according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. Arrows in this figure representone or more communications protocols. X, Y, and Z may be the same ordifferent communications protocols. A signal may be managed directly bythe Integrated Resource Primary Router, may be first converted to aninstalled protocol at the Primary Router prior to being received by thePrimary Router, and a signal from a device that cannot produce the basesignal X or have direct access to any given DAS by means of its headend,may move through an access point ZC, which may convert the signal intoany appropriate protocol installed on the IRPR and IRSR. One or moredistributed antenna systems is represented by X in a triangle. One ormore devices communicating with a common access point ZC is representedby Z in a triangle. One or more devices communicating with an IRSR on acommon protocol is represented by Y in a triangle. XC represents one ormore converters of protocol X into any other installed communicationprotocol available to IRPR. ZC represents one or more converters ofprotocol Z into any other installed communication protocol available toIRPR. One or more converters of protocol Y into any other installedcommunication protocol available to IRSR is represented by YC.

-   -   In the Primary Router, local destinations are handled by local        destination logic, LDL. That logic may be any method by which        the IRPR determines a received signal requires local routing or        local compute/storage services. Available devices and        compute/storage services on other primary routers (IRPRx) are        determined by Primary Router logic (IRPRLx). Custom routing        instructions for accessing external wide area networks, or any        external resources, whether networked or otherwise, is        controlled by wide area logic, WL. One or more Integrated        Resource Primary Routers connected with the Integrated Resource        Primary Router is represented by IRPRx. An Integrated Resource        may have one or more proximate Primary Routers (IRPRx).        Additional Primary Routers, however, may or may not be        proximate.    -   Control and management hardware and software to manage the        status of user devices, including by way of illustration,        location, subscription, usage, available protocols, routing        preferences, error handling, and security, is represented by an        ellipse and XM.    -   In the IR Secondary Router (IRSR), local destinations are        handled by local destination logic (mL). That logic may be any        method. Detection and management of registered devices is        handled by registered device logic (rL). Any logic method may be        used. Registered devices and compute/storage services connected        to other Integrated Resources, by means of the routing logic of        Second Routers (IRSRx), are controlled by Integrated Resource        Second Router extended logic (mLx). One or more IR Second        Routers connected with the IR Second Router is represented by        IRSRx. One or more clusters of proximate compute/storage        resources served by an IRSR is represented by mN. An Integrated        Resource may have one or more Second Routers (IRSR). Connections        to external wide area networks, or networks or external devices        of any sort capable of communicating in any protocol installed        on a IRPR or IRSR is represented by block arrows and WANx.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a network traffic control, servicesprovisioning, and content access system architecture that is compatiblewith existing infrastructure, but shifts a substantial volume of currentand anticipated network traffic to more efficient routing, services, andstorage resources.

A means to accomplish such routing is provided by embedding a routerarchitecture within a hardware and software environment that providesthe functions of a data center, with proximate access to compute,server, and storage capabilities. Such a domain of physically proximatecommunicating devices may be called a Facility, and the proximatecomponents so combined can be referred to as an Integrated Resource. AFacility may be a building or cluster of adjacent buildings, a portionof a building, a residential neighborhood, or other such configurationsin which multiple devices are capable of sending and receiving networkcommunications and also share communication resources provided by asingle Integrated Resource.

In such situations, communications among such devices are best servicedby short transmission path lengths, on the order of a few meters to tensof meters under local Integrated Resource control rather thanpotentially much longer transmission path lengths, on the order ofhundreds of kilometers or greater, required by arbitrary Internet andother wide-area network (WAN) communications.

Short Path Length Routing

An Integrated Resource preferably operates with communication pathlengths of 30 meters between receipt of a communications packet and theprovisioning of services and routing for that packet. With wavelengthrouting within an optical package switch and transport, however, pathlengths within a ring of Integrated Resources of 500 kilometers(circumference) are now achievable. Short transmission path lengths, inaddition to reducing latency, and thereby improving performance andreducing the load on common wide area network communications resources,also provide privacy and security for transmissions, which when routedlocally are not exposed to vulnerabilities such as ones that may requireresending of information or exposing information to breaches of privacyin the lines and servers between transmitting and receiving devices.

Methods of routing of communications traffic within a local area networkhave been established. Common to such methods is the use of one or moreservers, each a device that maintains a table of all locally connecteddevices and their local addresses, and which provides a means forsending and receiving communications among these devices. However, suchmethods do not take into account either the path length ofcommunications or whether a given packet should be routed locally orthrough an available wide area network such as the Internet to reach itstarget device.

The invention set forth herein addresses these issues by establishing amethod and system whereby a collection of communicating devices may beorganized as a Facility to be served by an Integrated Resource, theIntegrated Resource maintaining one or more routers with the capabilityto determine whether a given transmission originates locally, and if so,whether the target for the communication is within the same Facility,and therefore may be serviced locally. Such service may include one ormore of (1) the provision of services pertaining to the administrationof communications by a carrier signal provider or by a user; (2) routingthe communication to a local device; (3) using the capabilities of anIntegrated Resource Data Center to store information for retrieval by alocal device; and (4) the local provision of services requested by auser, which may include compute services, and content (data) storage,maintenance, and retrieval.

The Integrated Resource as an Edge Network Device

An Integrated Resource can be defined as including a signal receivingunit, such as a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) headend unit with oneor more interfaces to fiber optic cable carrying one or more specificcommunication frequencies, combined with the functions of one or moreIntegrated Resource primary routers, one or more Evolved Packet Cores,extended by means of a secondary router and a proximate data center, allof which can operate independently of any connection with the Internetor other wide area network. As used here, a data center is a compute andstorage resource comprising a collection of one or more centralprocessing units, memory, and data storage, together with common powermanagement, electrical supply, networking systems, environmentalcontrols, and security in a common enclosure.

The Integrated Resource provides a set of routing, serving, and storageservices to devices that share common communications infrastructure tointeract with one another and obtain locally provided software, content,search, and analytical services. The Integrated Resource serves as anedge network device for a WAN, which would otherwise provide directservices to these local devices. As an edge network device, theIntegrated Resource serves to selectively prevent local traffic fromusing the WAN when doing so permits may be accomplished by localcommunications and local services.

Embodiments of this invention shift decisions with regard to initialrouting of packets to the front of the interface with the Internet orother wide area network rather than by making those decisions rely oncommunication being dependent on wide-area network communications.

Embodiments of this invention teach a new concept in the distribution ofnetwork routing and computing resources, where a data center isproximate to a primary router that may act as a WAN edge router, andwhere multiple such routers could be physically collocated in a systemto manage local network traffic and provide services to local users.

Case Example: LTE

In a current LTE cellular communications design architecture, packetadministration is achieved by an eNodeB communicating via specificprotocols with the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) layer of the cellularnetwork, or to other eNodeB resources, with communications typicallytraversing substantial distances to remote data centers to provide therequisite services to each communicating device.

In an RF-over-fiber (or any wavelength over fiber, e.g., 802.11, WiMax,2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) optical environment, effectively the function served bythe LTE eNodeB is performed by the various antennae linked via fiber tothe headend unit. The signals traversing the optical fiber still travelsome distance to the equivalent of an eNodeB base station and then ontothe Evolved Packet Core (EPC) routing systems for connection withvarious data centers located within carrier facilities or distributed onthe Internet or other networks.

In an embodiment of this invention, we combine in a Integrated Resourcefunctions inherent to an LTE eNodeB and EPC with the headend unit of anoptical (or otherwise) distributed antenna system (DAS). Thesecomponents are managed by a Primary Router that also may communicatewith one or more Secondary Routers to a proximate data center.

Positioning of a Resource in a Network

An Integrated Resource incorporates one or more routers with a datacenter located within the geographic area servicing local devicesrelying on a single RF carrier. In LTE implementations, an eNodeBinteracts directly with such devices.

In an RF over Fiber network, this position is the DAS headend unitinterface with one or more frequency providers (e.g., telecommunicationscarrier, Internet service provider) bi-directional amplifier and eitherterrestrial or microwave backhaul connectivity to carrier routing anddata center functionality.

Local Routing Logic for Devices and Services

To accomplish the objective of keeping local communications local to aFacility, regardless of the number of private enterprises sharing thecarriers available at that Facility, the Integrated Resource maintains,in addition to a wide area network routing logic (such as in the form ofa table) consistent with conventional routers, a routing logic or tableof proximate services that identifies available storage, software, andcontent available to devices within the Facility served by an IntegratedResource.

A user device, when it emits a signal that can be detected by a carrierwithin a Facility, registers itself with an RF carrier serviced by theIntegrated Resource. The Integrated Resource, as a new system in networkarchitecture, acts to process, route, and deliver services for localnetwork traffic. Rather than route communications over arbitrarily longdistances to server farms that are often vast and sophisticated,threatening to overload the communications channels, the presentinvention relocates critical pieces of network architecture and servicesto the Integrated Resource. From the perspective of local devices, theIntegrated Resource is interposed ahead of any wide area network, andthe Integrated Resource augments quality of service by diminishinglatency of communications and increasing communications security and therange of services available to a user within a Facility.

That carrier may be proprietary, such as one owned by a cable company orcellular services company, or it may be common, created by theIntegrated Resource's inherent technology to serve one or more RFcarriers that are common to the Facility and not proprietary to anyexternal company or network.

When a user device registers with a carrier, its MAC address, locationinformation (i.e., geophysical location), and other information (such asuser identity) are copied to the Integrated Resource router's localdestination table and made available (according to the accessinformation contained in the user identity management service) to theIntegrated Resource for use in routing packets for service.

If the registered device then sends a communication that requires aservice (such as routing or access to storage, software, or content),the Integrated Resource first uses local destination routing logic todetermine whether that service is available locally by means of theIntegrated Resource, available at a connected Integrated Resource, orwhether the router must use the wide area network routing logic to routethe packet onto the Internet or other public network for service. Allservice requests that can be processed locally within the IntegratedResource are so processed, unless the user overrides the IntegratedResource's authorization by means of settings available to the user.

Proximate Data Center Services

Establishing an Integrated Resource in this configuration enables itsdata center component to provide low latency access to bothcomputational and content services. Computational services and contentthat may otherwise reside in data centers geographically dispersed fromthe one or more users can now be aggregated within an IntegratedResource. Such aggregation renders subsequent demand for access tocomputational services and content independent of a WAN.

Collocation of RF Carriers

With the establishment of an Integrated Resource, multiple proprietorsof RF spectrum can be collocated in an Integrated Resource, eachmaintaining its own primary routers, RF channels, eNodeBs, EPCs andother instantiations of cellular communications services. Eachproprietor can also operate using its own virtual machine or other datacenter functionality independent of the other cellular providers,managing any transactions between their respective networks according toagreed-upon conventions. A primary advantage of such transactions withinan Integrated Resource, however, lies in the ultra short data paths,which may be on the order of centimeters to a few meters, and resultantminimized latencies, between adjacent carrier systems collocated withinthe Integrated Resource.

Networking Two or More Integrated Resources

By interconnecting multiple Integrated Resources, packets may be routedthrough private networks, between Facilities for instance, to accessservices that minimize total latency for execution of those services,for the devices that will access them, compared with access tocomparable services available through conventional wide area networkssuch as the Internet.

Implementations and Variations

An embodiment envisions an all-optical routing infrastructure in whichthe electric-to-optical transformation happens (1) as each signal iseither detected or emitted by an antenna in the DAS configuration withina Facility (or from an outdoor antenna) and (2) at the interface betweenthe all-optical routing infrastructure data such as data center serversand storage area networks. In such an embodiment the wavelengthsignature of each packet efficiently enables determination of “locality”and routing between devices traversing a specific Integrated Resourceautomatically detects and establishes the necessary service allocation,be it for voice-over-IP, video-over-IP, or any other form of digitalcommunication.

A Facility need not be a single physical structure such as a building orparking structure, and a collection of Facilities, such as a campus, maynot be a single contiguous physical area.

Resource Routing and Switching Services

The Integrated Resource provides a system of routing and switchingservices that reduce or even eliminate backhaul communication services.These routing and switching services include the following.

Routing Local Service Requests to the Integrated Resource Data Center

By integrating routing and data center functions, the IntegratedResource allows carriers providing network connectivity to add a rangeof proximate services located close to the devices requesting thoseservices. Such services may include subscriber authentication and otherprocesses such as are managed in cellular networks by the Evolved PacketCore, access to virtual machines, database resources, content delivery,user content storage, failover, backup services, and network analytics.

The Integrated Resource provides this service by connecting a routerwith access to a local destination logic of available proximate servicespopulated by the carrier and/or by the clients in a facility served bythe Integrated Resource. Communications received at the IntegratedResource are inspected for proximate services, and if such proximateservices are available, the packets are routed to the data centerfunction for servicing. With the advent of virtual machines, carriersthrough the use of the Integrated Resource are enabled to provideservices with proximate data center services equivalent to those sameservices offered through WAN backhaul and backbone infrastructure toremote data centers.

Routing Local Communications to Local Devices within a Facility Servedby the Integrated Resource

By maintaining a registration table of all locally connected devices,the enhanced routing function of the Integrated Resource can redirectcommunications within a Facility or among Facilities within a campuswithout involving WAN backhaul infrastructure. With the growth ofdevices not requiring direct user operation, such as sensors andcameras, the Integrated Resource can manage substantial local data loadswithout placing new burdens on WAN backhaul infrastructure.

Routing Local Communications to Devices Locally Served by a SecondIntegrated Resource Connected to another Integrated Resource

The enhanced routing function of the Integrated Resource supports localrouting logic for communications services available at one or moreconnected Integrated Resources. By redirecting WAN-bound traffic to anoff-WAN connected Integrated Resource, the Integrated Resource avoidsthe use of WAN backhaul infrastructure. Instead, such network trafficremains off the WAN and only access it when the Integrated Resourceprogrammatically determines the WAN is the preferred path. Such routingfor Integrated Resources located within, by today's capacities, 1000kilometers circumference (ring network architecture) of each other mayuse wavelength routing within an optical package switch and transport(OPST). By assigning specific wavelengths to ports connected to theOPST, an Integrated Resource controlling a tunable transmitter may routecommunications around a fiber optic ring, where each port receives itsassigned wavelength.

Time-shifting Requests for Backhaul Services, such as Moving Content inAnticipation of Proximate Requests

With its integrated data center function, an Integrated Resource canprovide content storage and retrieval for both user- and vendor-suppliedcontent. A user can schedule future access to content (such asestablishing a virtual machine with resources available in a traveldestination) rather than requiring just-in-time service requestfulfillment dependent on WAN backhaul and backbone network resources. Acontent vendor, such as a media distribution company, can positionpopular content in anticipation of local demand thereby limiting WANbackhaul transfer of large media files to off-peak transfer to selectedIntegrated Resources rather than serving each user request over thenetwork as it is received.

Switching RF Carrier used for Backhaul Services, such as Switching fromCellular to WiFi

A given service provider may have multiple WAN backhaul infrastructures,such as LTE, Ethernet, cable communications, and 802.11x. The enhancedrouting capability of the Integrated Resource, enabled by its multimodalcommunications architecture and data center capabilities, allows avendor of services to operate a gateway among such infrastructures toshift communication traffic that requires WAN backhaul infrastructure tomove by means of the best available infrastructure.

This offload switching, such as from RF to WiFi, also applies toincoming communications from the RF carrier's data centers, the Internetor any other data center that the RF carrier may choose to enable, suchas Google, Facebook, Bing, Yahoo, and other such services that takeadvantage, following net neutrality, of the carrier's RF communicationinfrastructure to that wireless device. The

Integrated Resource can, following carrier and/or user settings, switchincoming communications into a preferred channel for management oflatency, security, or other such preference.

Switching Vendor Infrastructure for WAN Backhaul Services, PlacingCommunications into Destination Carrier Infrastructure, if available

By permitting collocation of multiple RF carrier vendors in a singleIntegrated Resource, switching of packets onto the WAN backhaulinfrastructure of any one of them, based on real-time assessment oflowest latency on any of their respective infrastructures, is enabled.

Example of an Integrated Resource Configuration

An Integrated Resource in an isolated, off-WAN form may be configuredfor entirely local services and routing, providing a local RF carrier,operating without access to an external wide area network such as theInternet. Such an implementation might be used in managing continuousfeed sensor networks in a particular area under surveillance, or forsecure corporate communications among a number of proximate buildings.The following components can be distinguished:

-   1. Any type of device capable of communicating wirelessly (such as    by means of RF or WiFi).-   2. Bi-directionally communicating with any form of antenna    (femtocell, picocell, small cell, or any other type of antenna)    between components 1 and 3.-   3. An antenna for converting upload signals from electrical to    optical (E-O) or download signal from Optical to electrical (O-E).-   4. An antenna for connecting with optical fiber or free space    optical transceiver (FSOT).-   5. An optical fiber for connecting with headend unit (HEU) either    directly or via any form of amplifier or other signal conditioning    opto-electronics in the path from an antenna to the HEU.-   6. An HEU for directing RF or any other signal type to a carrier,    service provider signal source & signal processing opto-electronics    that, in the invention, reside proximately within an Integrated    Resource.-   7. Signal source & signal processing opto-electronics for converting    uploaded signal, if not already digital, into a digital format such    as Ethernet frames as well as converting, for instance Ethernet    frames to RF for transmission via HEU to the antenna for download to    the communicating device.-   8. Once converted to digital format the uploaded signal is    inspected, interpreted, and a variety of services, for instance, in    an LTE implementation of the invention, such services would include    a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS),    a Serving Gateway (SGW), a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDNG), etc.-   9. Simultaneously or serially, as services indicated in component 8    are being performed, the digital frames/packets flow to and are    processed by one or more routers within the Resource.-   10. Routing is then either to an Integrated Resource for    computational processing, database analysis, digital storage,    provisioning of virtual machines, or any other application.-   11. Or routing is to any network (public or private) to which the    Integrated Resource is connected. Such networks could be that of a    telecommunication carrier, the Internet or other public networks, or    to other Integrated Resources.-   12. Similar routing can be done on digitally formatted signals    received by the Integrated Resource from any network that it has    access as to either store, compute and store, otherwise to service    as well as to transmit to a user device being served by the    Integrated Resource. Any form of antenna capable of transmitting and    receiving any frequency as either an analog or digital signal is    anticipated as potential ways to implement the invention.

Connections throughout the entire implementation can be purely copper(i.e., electrical), purely fiber (i.e. optical/photonic) or a hybrid ofcopper and fiber. Connections may also be wireless.

Any form factor of copper cable (e.g., coaxial cable), or fiber (e.g.,single mode), or hybrid combination of form factors is anticipated aspotential ways to implement the invention.

In one embodiment, the inventive system described here may beimplemented by the following equipment list:

Corning ONE Wireless Antenna unit comprised of both a radio antenna(e.g., femtocell), a WiFi access point (802.11n, ac, ad, whatever), oneor more Ethernet ports powered by PowerOverEthernet, aka PoE) connectedto a per floor interconnect unit, connected to an aggregating fibermanagement unit, connected to an optical interface unit, connected to aheadend unit (with RF & digital line cards) connected to any devicecapable of providing full eNodeB functionality connected to any devicecapable of providing Evolved Packet Core functionality connected to arouter that is connected to both an Integrated Resource Primary Router(or switch) and to either fiber or some other mechanism (i.e., freespace optics microwave transceiver) enabling wide area network/Internetconnectivity as well as internal to the Integrated Resource connectivityto any form of computer and storage system.

Flow Control Logic

The following example is of a flow control logic algorithm to shutdownbackhaul and redundant data communications. It is noted that any numberof methods might be used other than router dynamically updated lookuptables—algorithms, firmware, hardwired circuits, or combinations. Thekey point is that traffic separates into status/non-local and local, andlocal stays local, but behaves (other than its service path and latency)as if it has also traversed a wide area network.

Cellular

A remote device (User Equipment (UE in LTE terminology)) within theservice area of a DAS generates a signal that passes through the DAS toa line card operating at the RF of the UE. The DAS line card isconnected to an eNodeB. The eNodeB converts the signal to Ethernetpackets and passes the packets sequentially to the Integrated ResourcePrimary Router (IRPR).

The IRPR inspects each packet header, checks the packet header for EPCmark-up against local destination logic LDT.

If no EPC markup, then IRPR sends packet to EPC.

If EPC markup, then the IRPR routes according to that markup.

If the markup matches an integrated eNodeB destination, then IRPR routesto that eNodeB.

If the markup does not match an integrated eNodeB destination, then IRPRchecks the packet for status.

-   -   If status, then if WAN, IRPR routes to WAN,    -   Else if status, and not WAN, then IRPR routes to EPC,    -   Else if not status, then IRPR checks LDT.

If LDT, then IRPR routes to the IR,

Else if IRTx, IRPR checks the IRx LDTs.

-   -   If match, then IRPR routes to the specified IRPRTx,    -   Else IRPR checks for custom WAN routing logic IRCT.

If a IRCT, then

-   -   If match, IRPR routes onto the custom WAN,    -   Else IRPR routes onto the WAN, if available

If bad packet header, then IRPR routes to EPC for management.

General Communication Protocol, Non-cellular

The IRPR inspects each signal, checks the signal for markup by installedcontrol function XC.

If no XC markup, then IRPR sends packet to XC.

If XC markup, then the IRPR routes according to that markup.

If the markup matches a destination available locally using X protocoland the IRPR LDT, then IRPR routes to that local destination using thelocal X communication resource.

If the markup does not match a destination available locally, then IRPRchecks the packet for status.

-   -   If status, then if X protocol WAN available, IRPR routes to X        protocol WAN,    -   Else if status, and not WAN, then IRPR routes to XC,    -   Else if not status, then IRPR checks LDT.

If LDL, then IRPR routes to the IRSR,

Else if IRPRTx, IRPR checks the IRPRx LDLs.

-   -   If match, then IRPR routes to the specified IRPRTx via protocol        X,    -   Else IRPR checks for custom X protocol WAN routing logic IRCT.

If a custom X protocol WAN Table, then

-   -   If match, IRPR routes onto the custom X protocol WAN,    -   Else IRPR routes onto the X protocol WAN, if available.

If IRPR cannot otherwise route signal, then IRPR routes signal to XC formanagement.

For Local Routing at IRSR

IRSR receives packet from the IRPR

-   -   IRSR checks for local address in IRSR Table IRSRT        -   If match, then IRSR routes to IRDC,        -   Else if IRNTx, then IRSR checks the data center routing            logic IRNTx of connected IRSRx.        -   If match, then IRSR routes to designated IRSRx,        -   Else IRSR routes to WAN,        -   Else ISRR routes back to IRPR as error, updates IRPR LDT

IRSR receives packet from Ethernet source (WFR or EN direct connection)

-   -   IRSR checks for registered device in IRRDT.        -   If not in registered device logic IRRDT then IRSR routes to            data center mN escrow and sets error flag for handling,    -   Else if in IRRDT,        -   then IRSR checks for local address in IRNT,        -   If match, then IRSR routes to data center mN,        -   Else if IRNTx, then IRSR checks the data center logic IRNTx            of connected IRSRx        -   If match, then IRSR routes to designated IRSRx,        -   Else IRSR routes to IRPR if IRPR available

For any connection between IRPR and IRSR, or IRPR and IRPRTx, or IRSRand IRSRx, if a direct connection is not available, then the sendingdevice may attempt a WAN connection to the designated device.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for local data communication traffic management, comprising: (a) an off-WAN eNodeB communicatively connected to a proximate transceiver capable of conveying communications to and from the eNodeB; (b) an off-WAN Evolved Packet Core (EPC); and (c) a router operable in an off-WAN mode and communicatively connected to the eNodeB and the EPC, and wherein the router is an intermediary between the eNodeB and the EPC, wherein the router is configured at the output of the eNodeB to selectively determine which data packets stay off-WAN, and wherein the EPC serves the data packets from the eNodeB via the router in an off-WAN mode, wherein within the system a transmission pathway is less than 30 meters.
 2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein there is no bidirectional amplifier communicatively connected between the eNodeB and the proximate transceiver.
 3. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein within the system delays of packets in the communications are less than 150 milliseconds.
 4. The system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an off-WAN data center communicatively connected to the router, wherein the data center hosts compute and data storage services.
 5. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein data packets directed to a WAN are routed by the router to stay off-WAN.
 6. The system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the router selectively sends some of the data packets to the WAN.
 7. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the system is a mobile system.
 8. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the system is integrated within a mobile device.
 9. A method for local data communication traffic management, comprising: (a) receiving data packets from one or more signal distribution, transceiver systems or a distributed antenna system, wherein the data packets are received by an off-WAN operable eNodeB; (b) configuring an off-WAN operable router at the output of the eNodeB, wherein the router ensures that the data packets stay off-WAN; and (c) serving the received data packets off-WAN via the router by an off-WAN operable Evolved Packet Core (EPC), wherein a transmission pathway for the local data communication is less than 30 meters, or wherein delays of packets in the communications are less than 150 milliseconds.
 10. The method as set forth in claim 9, further comprising an off-WAN data center communicatively connected to the router, wherein the data center hosts compute and data storage services.
 11. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein data packets directed to a WAN are routed by the router to stay off-WAN.
 12. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the router selectively sends some of the data packets to the WAN.
 13. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein the method is a mobile solution.
 14. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein the method is integrated within a mobile device. 